Southern California -- this just in

The lawyer who negotiated the now-disputed agreement between Frank and Jamie McCourt testified Tuesday he had switched a page that excluded Frank McCourt from sole ownership of the L.A. Dodgers to one that granted him sole control after the couple had signed the agreement.

The McCourts are in the midst of a divorce trial with ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers at stake.

"Did you think it was OK to switch an exhibit to a legal document after it had been signed and notarized?" asked David Boies, attorney for Jamie McCourt.

"In certain circumstances, yes," said Larry Silverstein.

Boies asked Silverstein how long he had practiced law.

Silverstein said he had done so for 33 years.

"In all of your experience," Boies asked, "have you ever known a situation in which a lawyer, after a document has been signed and notarized, has removed a schedule and substituted another without the express written permission of the parties to that agreement?"

Silverstein replied, "Express permission or implicit permission, no."

Silverstein said he had not notified Jamie McCourt of the switch.

[For the record at 1:40 p.m.: A previous version of this post stated incorrectly that Silverstein said he had notified her of the switch].

Boies asked Silverstein whether he believed he had an "absolute ethical obligation to tell your client what you had done."